Screen for receiving projected images



May 28, 1935. F. EARLE 2,002,733

I SCREEN FOR RECEIVING PROJECTED IMAGES Filed March 9, 1953 I INVENTO Rfi'gzzczir Ear/e ATTORNEYS Patented May 28, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE Francis Earle, Montclair, N. 1., assignor to The MearlCorporation, Montclair, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey ApplicationMarch 9, 1933, Serial No. 6692115 8 Claims.

This invention relates to screens for receiving projected images.

The invention provides screens, admirably suited for use in the motionpicture, television and 5 allied arts, which impart improved quality anddepth to the projectedimages, eliminate distortion of the images whenviewed from an angle, reduce specular reflection to a minimum and inmany other respects give greatly improved rel sults over those obtainedwhen any of the various conventional screens are employed. Further, thescreens contemplated by the present invention impart a highly desirablestereoscopic effect to the images projected there- 15 upon. Amongnumerous other advantages and novel features, the present inventionprovides screens which greatly reduce eye strain in the auditors.

The present invention provides screens for re- 80 ceiving projectedimages in which a special coating or receiving medium is utilizedcapable of both reflecting and retracting the light.

The particular receiving medium or coating that I have discovered givesdesirable and totally 25 unexpected results is composed wholly or inpart of pearl essence either natural or artificial. No special grade ofpearl essence is required but certain modes of procedure in applying itmay b desirable as hereinafter noted.

80 The screens to which my improved coating may be applied may be ofstandard construction such as solid texture or perforated. While white,black or aluminum backgrounds are preferred, excellent'results have beensecured even when colored backgrounds have been employed. However, withcolored backgrounds or surfaces, there is a tendency for the lightreflected to the observer to partially exhibit that color and thuslose'some of'its chiaroscopic nature. Again, the

9 background may be chosen from a host of materials among which may bementioned leather, paper, glass, textiles, metals,- wood, etc.

While I prefer using a nitrocellulose lacquer as proved screens'of thepresent invention. In this instance, white imitation leather, that iscotton material coated with pyroxylin carrying a white pigment, wasutilized as a background. Pearl essence' was then incorporated inlacquer and the resulting mixture applied to the background. 6 Thiscoating action was accomplished by means of an ordinary spray gun andupon drying the screen was suitable for use.

.It is, of course, understood that the above example is given merely asan illustration and is not 10 to be construed in any sense as alimitation of the broad scope of the invention. Obviously,- any othermethods of manufacturing screens of the type described may be practised,while, at the same time, the invention may be adapted to a great varietyof screens suitable for receiving projected images.

Various other modifications of the invention will be readily apparent tothose skilled in the art. For example, lacquer containing essence ofpearl may be poured into .a suitable tray, allowedto dry, the resultingfilm stripped therefrom and utilized as a screen itself or cemented orotherwise applied to a desired background. Y Again, pearl essencelacquer may be allowed to flow into a moving drum, the sheet strippedand utilized as a screen. A screen having the desired properties mayalso be formed from cloth in which the pearl essence is incorporated,as, for example, by extruding fibres through which pearl essence isdisbursed and weaving a suitable screen therefrom. As already mentioned,either natural pearl essence or the synthetic imitations of the same,such as the so -called H-scale and the like, may be utilized inproducing screens for receiving projected images in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention.

Many new, improved and beneficial results are. obtained by projectingimages upon screens coated with pearl essence or screens impregnatedwith that material. The screens are characterized by their ability toclearly define and reflect images, while, at the same time, diifusingthe reflected light in all angular directions thus giving a maximum ofreflectibility with a minimum of glare and allowing the images to beviewed from sharp angles without distortion or eye strain to theauditor. While a maximum of reflected light is obtained by utilizingscreens coated or impregnated with pearl essence so that images may evenbe viewed in broad daylight, the diffusion of the reflected light is sonearly perfect that halos and specular reflections are reduced to anabsolute minimum orentirely eliminated. In addition, a pronouncedstereoscopic effect is produced thus giving the projected images thedesired illusion of depth.

Screens possessing these desired properties may be readily andeconomically produced in any de- 5 sired shape or size. In addition tothe novel and beneflcial characteristics already described, such screensare washable and non-tarnishable and may thus be readily cleaned, a featoften impossible with many of the standard screens heretofore used inthe projection of images.

It is believed that the beneficial results attending the use of theimproved screen in receiving projected images may be traced, in part atleast, to the microscopic and characteristic crystalline structure ofpearl essence particles.

However, this is advanced merely as an hypothe sis, as it is possiblethat other properties peculiar topearl essence, not known totheapplicant, ex-

- plain the advance in the art.

While certain novel, features'ofthe invention have been disclosed andare pointed out in the annexed claims, it will be understood thatvarious .omissions, substitutions and changes may be specular reflectionand in which pearl essence in combination with a lacquer base is a basicconstituent.

4. A process for manufacturing a screen suitable for use in projectingmotion picture images containing pearl. essence as a necessaryconstituent which comprises forming a mixture of pearl essence andlacquer and uniformly spraying said mixture on a suitable backgroundwhereby a screen capable of diffusing light with a maximum of reflectionand a minimum of glare is produced.

5. A washable screen capable of diifusing and reflecting projected raysin such manner that specular reflections are reduced to a minimum whichcomprises in combination an opaque background and a lacquer coatinglayer containing pearl essence.

6. The improvement in projecting desired images to render same visibleto observers which comprises projecting said images upon a textilefabric impregnated with crystals of pearl essence carried in a lacquerbase.

7. A screen for receiving and reflecting projected images comprising abacking member of white imitation leather having a coating thereon oflacquer carrying particles of pearl essence in. suspension. w

8. A screen for receiving and reflecting tele vision images which are ofrelatively low intensity which comprises a backing sheet of whiteimitation leather coated with a lacquer, and particles of pearl essencemixed with said lacquer.

FRANCIS EARLE.

